Illegal Operation
by Burenda
Summary: Protoman is on his own now, but before he can live his own life, he must first become self sufficient. Unfortunately, Mega Man will be the one to pay the price for his brother's freedom. Sequel to End Program. 'Mega Man Cartoon universe'
1. Abort Retry Fail

Disclaimer: This story is based on the Mega Man cartoons, which belong to Capcom, ADV, and a bunch of people who are not me. Some liberties were taken with certain facts, but for the most part, I've tried to stay true to the canon. 

This story is a sequel to "End Program," so if you have not already read that story, you might want to go do that before reading this one.

**Illegal Operation  
**

**Chapter One: Abort/Retry/Fail**

_"Protoman! Why did you disobey me?"_

_"Because your orders were stupid! I could have been in and out of that bank in no time if you hadn't sent Gutsman and Cutman with me."_

_"I sent them with you as back-up in case that meddlesome blue dweeb showed up - which he _did!"

_"He wouldn't have if those two junk bots hadn't tripped the alarms! I knew they'd do something stupid - that's why I ditched them in the first place!"_

_"The point is that you _disobeyed_ me, Protoman!"_

_"I did it to _help_ you, doc!"_

_"And just look at how much 'help' you were. What did you bring back to me? Nothing!"_

_"Everything was going just fine until _they_ showed up..."_

"Meow?"

Protoman blinked, disturbed from his memories when something bumped insistently against his leg. He looked down to see what it was and saw a small robotic cat staring patiently back up at him. "Go away," he said irritably, kicking the thing aside. "I don't have time to play with a robo-pest like you. Go back to your owner."

The cat meowed plaintively at him, as though deploring the abuse, then turned and sauntered back down the alley it had come from, practically oozing arrogance and disdain from its entire being. Protoman scowled at it, sorely tempted to blast the thing to smithereens, but managed to resist the urge long enough for the creature to disappear around a corner. He'd been trying to keep a low profile for a week now. It would hardly do to blow his cover over something as trivial as a stupid cat.

To be honest, he really didn't have anything better to do, he'd just lashed out at the cat out of habit and frustration. Living the life of a rogue was nowhere near as interesting as some might think, especially when he was trying to avoid attention. Back when he'd worked for Dr. Wily there had always been things to do. Missions to go on, banks to rob, crazy schemes to help out with... Even during the intermittent lulls of activity, there were still plenty of discarded inventions and broken machinery that he could poke through, salvaging whatever parts he might find useful for his own amusement. He had none of that now that he was on his own.

At first Proto had spent his time looking for someplace to hide out in, a place where he could recharge at night without worrying about anyone disturbing him. He'd finally found an old abandoned warehouse that suited his purposes nicely. There had been locks on the door, of course, but they hadn't stood a chance against the strength of a robot. The warehouse itself was in a part of the city that Wily had never targeted, so Protoman highly doubted his brother would think to look for him here.

Not that Mega Man would be looking for him at all. At least, not him specifically.

"Twerp probably doesn't even know I'm not with Wily anymore," Protoman muttered to himself. His hands clenched in anger as he thought back to the last encounter he'd had with the famous blue bomber. Their fight had been beyond disastrous. Protoman had not held back at all, and yet he had _still_ lost to his brother - had been injured so much, in fact, that Mega Man had had no trouble kidnapping him and taking him to Dr. Light for repairs. As soon as he'd woken up, the red robot had promptly escaped, but the damage to his pride had already been dealt. A week later, his ego was still stinging, and if he saw his brother anytime soon, Protoman wasn't certain he would be able to resist opening fire then and there.

Actually, the reason he hadn't gone after his brother and demanded a rematch, the reason he'd been keeping an especially low profile the past week, was the same reason he was prowling down this alley in the first place. He couldn't afford to get into any fights until he had the means to repair himself afterwards, and this building promised to hold the equipment he needed. After he'd found a place to lay low, Protoman had donned a disguise to go to the local library to look for relatively nearby robotics laboratories. None would be as good as Dr. Light's or Dr. Wily's laboratories, but neither of those were good choices for a variety of reasons.

So, here he was, trying to find a way to break into the personal laboratory of a rising Russian scientist whose work was almost on par with his American counterparts'. Protoman had no idea what the guy was doing in the United States, nor did he particularly care. It was enough that he was good at what he did and he was here - or, rather, that his laboratory was here. Protoman didn't care one whit whether the scientist himself was around or not.

_Now how am I going to bust into this place?_ he mused to himself.

-o-

  
_"Whatcha doin', doc?"_

_"I would think it would be obvious! I am attempting to salvage the computer that that future robot smashed."_

_"Give it up, Dr. Wily. The thing's busted. The electrical discharge caused by the damage probably fried every circuit in there."_

_"Perhaps. However, there is still the possibility that some of the data Vile loaded onto the machine is intact. Just think, Proto. Think what I could do with even a glimpse at the technology of the future! I could build a new robot, one more powerful than anything I have ever created before. Not even Mega Man would be able to stand up to it!"_

_"Hmph."_

_"You don't think I can do it?"_

_"I think you'd have to actually find a working memory chip in that hunk of junk first. Then you'd have to be lucky enough that the thing held something _useful_ on it, and not just worthless old data you already have backed up somewhere else."_

_"Where do you think you're going?"_

_"Out. If _you_ want to waste your time looking for something that isn't there, go right ahead. Just don't expect me to help."_

_"Don't you take that tone with me, Protoman! I could always _order_ you to help."_

_"...whatever."  
_

-o-

  
"I'm sorry, sir, but if you want an interview with the doctor, I'm afraid I _must_ insist on seeing some identification." 

Protoman barely refrained from growling. "Look, lady. I've got the notebook, video recorder, and microphone. I even gave you the Chronicle's business card. How much more proof do you want before you're convinced that I'm a reporter?"

"I still need to see a photo I.D., sir," the chief of security said blandly. "Preferably something that proves you work for the Chronicle. Oh, and you _will_ need to remove the hat and sunglasses."

"I..." Damn. He couldn't see a way to argue around that one. "I forgot my I.D. at home," the robot muttered through clenched teeth. Oh, how he wanted to just blast his way in. But he couldn't afford to do that. If he did, it'd be next to impossible to get the equipment he wanted without any of it getting damaged.

"Right." The woman smiled insincerely, obviously not falling for Protoman's story. "Well, as soon as you retrieve your I.D., come back and I'll run a check on it. Have a nice day!"

_Have a nice day indeed!_ Protoman glared at the woman for a moment before stalking away from the security check point. He would have stomped his feet the whole time, too, but the loud clang of metal boots on cement would have been a dead giveaway. _I'll give _her_ a 'nice day' - as soon as I get the equipment I need out of that lab. Let's see how she likes it when she loses her job!_

Grumbling fierce invectives under his breath, the disguised ex-Wily bot started across the street without even bothering to wait for the crossing signal to light up. He hardly even noticed when several cars had to screech to a halt to avoid hitting him, nor did he care about the insults and curses being hurled at him from the angry drivers. He was too wrapped up in his own anger and frustration to care.

Probably what irritated him the most was the fact that his disguise had failed to gain him entry. Lacking the resources that Dr. Wily had at his disposal, Protoman had had to make do with what he could find on his own. A dark brown trench coat long enough to hide the majority of his armored body had been as easy as finding the nearest bar and waiting for an appropriately clad drunkard to stumble out. Same went for the hat, although that had come from a different victim, and the sunglasses had been pure luck. Protoman made a mental note to go to the park more often, as it seemed to be a common occurrence for people to lose things there.

Unfortunately, without one of Dr. Wily's special masks, there had been no way to disguise his helmet. The only option Protoman had was to remove it entirely, and he _hated_ leaving himself that vulnerable. He could hardly understand how humans could stand to go around with their heads bare, completely defenseless to a well placed jab or a stray plasma blast. And they didn't even have the advantage of being made out of metal! Their lives were so fragile, and yet they persisted in taking no thought about protecting their own bodies.

_Idiots, _he thought with disgust. _All of them._ He paused in front a set of darkened windows belonging to some shop that had gone out of business and examined his reflection for a moment. The sunglasses did little to hide the fact that he looked like a teenager - a fact that probably hadn't earned any points with the security guard - and a few locks of dark brown hair stubbornly fluffed out from under the fedora. His face twisted into a grimace and he turned away. _I look like my _brother.

"Hey, you moron! Get off the street!"

Protoman cursed as he jumped back onto the curb just in time to avoid being run over by a truck. The truck sped down the street, its driver either not noticing or not caring how close he'd come slamming into the red raider.

"Geez, kids these days," the man who'd yelled at Proto muttered in disgust. "Don't even have the sense to look both ways before crossing the street."

"Mind your own business, old man," Protoman snapped, not at all grateful for the other's warning. "I didn't ask for your help!"

The man bristled. "Well, ex_cuse_ me for saving your sorry butt from being turned into road pizza!"

Protoman opened his mouth to shoot off a snarky retort, but stopped before the first word left his lips. He couldn't explain that he'd never been in any real danger, that in a crash involving him and an old beat up truck like the one that had nearly hit him the truck would have definitely come out the loser. He might have gotten dinged up a bit, depending on how well made the truck was, but certainly not on the order of 'road pizza.' But he couldn't say that to this man because that would blow his cover, something he wasn't ready for just yet. So instead Protoman simply glared at his would-be savior, then spun around and stepped off the curb.

-o-

  
_"One of these days, someone's luck is going to run out. I would hate for it to be yours, Protoman."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"It means exactly what I said."_

_"Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about _my_ luck running out, doc. Mega Man, now... _His_ luck is due to run out, and I bet it'll happen at five o'clock tomorrow. Heh. My brother won't know what hit him."_

_"Hmph. I won't believe it until I see his body lying in pieces at my feet. It wouldn't be the first time you've failed to destroy that little blue dweeb."_

_"Hey, you should have more confidence in me, doc. Besides, it's a brilliant plan - best of all being that _I'll_ get to blast Mega Man sky high!"_

_"True, true. I _am_ a genius. Well, let's get started!"_

-o-

  
Afternoon sunlight filtered in through the broken windows of the warehouse, providing just enough light for Protoman, no longer wearing his disguise, to see his reflection in the dark shades of the helmet he held in his hands. The trench coat had been flung carelessly over the edge of an old crate and the hat and sun glasses had joined the collection of debris littering the floor. Maybe if he stayed here long enough he'd get around to cleaning up the place a bit. Maybe. 

_I look like my brother._

Sitting atop a dusty old old barrel, the red robot scowled at his reflection, imagining that it _was_ his brother. Of course, his brother would never wear an expression like the one Protoman was wearing now, but lacking the actual blue bomber himself, this reflection would have to do.

_Why did Dr. Light have to build you to look like me? This is supposed to be _my_ reflection, not yours._

Granted, there were a few minor differences, things that Dr. Light couldn't have copied without actually seeing Protoman first. He had darker hair than his brother, for one thing, his skin a little more dusky, and his eyes were a greyer shade of blue than Mega Man's. Still, for all intents and purposes, Protoman and Mega Man could pass for twins - twins 'born' three months apart.

_Yeah, that's right. They rant about Dr. Wily copying other people's inventions, but Dr. Light copied me first!_

A copy. That's what Mega Man really was. Just a copy with a different helmet and a different coat of paint. A copy who could never be as good as the-

"Wait a minute," Protoman cut himself off, eyes widening as he stared at his reflection. "That's it! That's how I can get into the lab!" He hopped down from the barrel and set his helmet aside, then picked up the pieces of his disguise and put them back on. He paused as he slipped the sun glasses into place, giving his helmet one last glance. "Better watch out, little brother," he taunted his reflection, grinning. "You're not gonna like this one bit."

-o-

  
_"How could you _miss_! You were practically shooting point blank!" _

"You_ try shooting someone when you have a stupid robo-mutt attached to your buster arm!"_

_"Do not give me excuses, Protoman!"_

_"Well, what the hell do you _want_, then?"_

_"I want you to destroy Mega Man!"_

_"Do you think I'm not trying!"_

_"I think you're not trying hard enough! I'm beginning to think I ought to have you _replaced."

_"You're out of your mind, doc. Who're you gonna replace me with? Gutsman?"_

_"I could build a _new_ robot-"_

_"Who will be just as good as all the other bots around here - except _me_. Face it, Dr. Wily. I'm your best bet at getting rid of my brother. Nothing you _or _Dr. Light can build can top me. _I_ will destroy Mega Man."_

_"Well, I wish you would hurry up and _do_ it."_

_"I will, doc. I will."  
_

-o-

  
"What is it?" Chief of Security Lynn Bergher said into her walkie talkie, responding to her co-worker's call within moments of hearing his voice. 

"Chief, Mega Man's here at the front gate. Says he's uncovered a plot of Dr. Wily's to break into the lab."

"I'll be right there." She holstered the walkie talkie in her belt, then immediately broke into a jog. Anything concerning Dr. Wily was taken very seriously ever since he'd gotten his hands on some of Dr. Cossack's designs. If Mega Man himself had come here to deliver the warning, that only made it doubly important to get there as soon as possible.

The blue bomber was waiting for her in the lobby, arms folded and looking very grim. Ian Cotswold, the guard who had radioed her when Mega Man had shown up, immediately noticed when Lynn stepped through the door and nodded in greeting.

"Lynn Bergher," she introduced herself. "Chief of Security."

"Mega Man," the robot responded, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. He held out his hand and the two exchanged a brief handshake before getting down to business.

"Now, what exactly is Dr. Wily planning?"

Mega Man glanced at Ian pointedly. Ian, taking the obvious hint, coughed lightly and excused himself to continue his rounds. Mega Man waited until Ian had left the room before he turned his attention back to Lynn and answered her question. "Earlier today, I overheard some of Wily's bots talking about breaking into Cossack Labs and stealing some equipment. I didn't catch much of the conversation, but from what I did hear I'm pretty sure they're planning to attack tonight at ten o' clock. I was thinking that we could work together to give them a 'warm welcome.'"

"What did you have in mind?" Lynn asked, relieved. As far as she was concerned, having Mega Man on site during the attack could only improve their chances of thwarting the attack. Granted, it would also probably increase the amount of property damage, but anything that Dr. Wily might be interested in stealing was likely worth more than the cost to reconstruct the entire building.

"Here, I'll show you." Mega Man pointed at something behind Lynn's back. "If you'll just look through that window..."

The Chief of Security turned around and did as Mega Man asked, taking in the details of the busy street that the window overlooked. She heard the clank of the blue bomber's feet as he walked across the tiled floor to join her. He stopped, and from his faint reflection in the glass window, Lynn could tell that he was standing right behind her.

Then she knew no more.

-o-

  
_"What am I going to do with you, Proto, my boy?"_

_"I dunno. Send me off to kill Mega Man?"_

_"Bah! That is not what I meant and you know it!"_

_"Actually, no, I don't know what you meant. Care to elaborate?"_

_"No, no. Never mind. If you do not understand, I'm not going to explain - it'd no doubt only make things worse."_

_"Right..."_

_"Besides, I am hoping it is just a phase. Mein Gott, you're as bad as a human teenager..."_

_"What was that?"_

_"Nothing. I said nothing. Don't you have something better to do? Go pester Gutsman or Cutman or one of the other robots and let me work in peace!"  
_

-o-

  
As Lynn Bergher's unconscious form crumpled to the floor, Protoman sighed with relief. He'd only had to imitate his little brother's whiny voice once before, back when Dr. Wily had created that dream machine of his, but that didn't make it any less irritating. Hopefully, he wouldn't run into anyone else while he was here. If he did, he may well decide to keep his mouth shut just to avoid having to mimic Mega Man's voice again. 

_Right, then. Time to get what I came here for._

Having acquired and studied a set of blueprints for the building, it didn't take much time at all for temporarily blue raider to make his way to Dr. Cossack's laboratory. In fact, the only unexpected delay he had was when he ran into the other guard from earlier. The look on his face had almost been comical as 'Mega Man' pointed a buster in his face and shoved him into a supply closet. Protoman smirked at the memory, then refocused on the task at hand. He pushed open the door - and was promptly hit by a screaming ball of spikes and claws.

"Argh! What the hell!" Protoman swore and swung at his assailant with his non-buster arm. The blow connected, the bulky armor on his forearm protecting him from the spikes, and the whatever-it-was flew across the room with a loud yowl. Undaunted, it seemed to bounce right back off the wall and straight for Protoman. "Oh, no you don't!" Protoman dove to the side, but he didn't dare open fire. It'd be just his luck if he missed his attacker and managed to blow up the equipment he'd come here for in the first place.

The spinning ball of spikes landed on the floor and in the blink of an eye the spikes had retracted and the ball uncurled to reveal a hissing green robo-cat. Said cat arched its back and gave Protoman a glare that should have come equipped with lasers, and though it didn't seem capable of human speech, its message was clear. _Get out of my lab._

Protoman picked himself up off the floor, scowling. "So you want to play rough, huh? Let's see what you've got!" He watched the cat warily for a moment, then took a step to the left. Just as he'd expected the cat launched itself at him again, and he quickly jerked back to the right. "What? Not gonna try your imitation of a pincushion again?" he taunted. "And here I thought I was about to be a shishke-bot! Come on, you can do better than that!"

The cat's ears laid back against its head and it hissed at Protoman again, obviously taking offense to his insults. It bounded up onto one of the counters, knocking a few tools off in the process, then leaped off again. It curled up in mid-air, and once more it unsheathed the razor sharp spikes hidden all over its body. This time, however, Proto was ready. He grabbed hold of a chair with both hands and, as the spinning ball of death flew towards him, he swung it like a baseball bat. The two met with a resounding _clang_ and the screech of tearing metal. For a moment, Protoman though the cat would actually _stick_ to the chair, as several of its spikes were now firmly embedded in the metal seat, but then the thing's spikes receded and the cat - once more in cat form - fell limply to the floor. Protoman nudged it with the toe of his boot before crouching down for a closer look.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" he commented. "Thought so. Probably can't see very well when you're spinning that fast." His guess was that the cat relied on its ears when it used that particular method of attack, but he could be wrong. Still, he'd succeeded in knocking the thing out, and that was all that mattered. He rubbed the cat's metal head almost affectionately, smirking. "You fought well, kitty. Too bad you picked the wrong bot to mess with."

He stood up, fully intent on collecting the equipment he needed and then getting out of there before he was discovered, then hesitated. He looked down at the cat. The cat lay still. He looked around the lab, then back at the cat. "Oh, what the hell," he muttered, stooping over to pick the thing up. "Maybe I can make you good for something."

A few minutes later, Protoman emerged from the lab, cheerfully pushing a cart full of equipment with a green and white robo-kitty draped across the top.

-o-

  
_"...and that is how I intend to get rid of Mega Man once and for all!"_

_"Great plan, doc. Only one problem."_

_"What is that, pray tell?"_

_"The part where _you _kill Mega Man. Mega Man is _mine. I_ will be the one to kill him. Not you, not Gutsman or Cutman, or any of your other stupid robots."_

_"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, Protoman! If you will remember, _I_ am the one who built you. _I_ am the one who gives the orders around here!"_

_"Mega Man is _my_ brother. His life belongs to _me."

_"And what will you do if someone else manages to kill him first?"_

_"I..." _

_"I thought as much. Now get to work. We have much to do and very little time to do it if we want to catch that meddlesome pest off guard."  
_

-o-

  
"You, my spiky little friend, are a girl," Protoman declared. The cat didn't respond, of course, as she was still off-line while Protoman worked on repairing her. Protoman - once again sporting his customary colors, scarf, and helmet - inserted the tip of a laser tuner into her open chest panel and carefully adjusted some of her internal circuitry. "Girl cats are supposed to be the territorial ones, right? That's you to a 't.' Hmm... now what am I going to call you?" 

He paused what he was doing thought about possible names for a moment, eyes wandering across the room for inspiration. With the equipment he'd stolen from Dr. Cossack's lab all set up, some of it sitting on the floor, some of it on top of a crate, the place was actually starting to look like someone lived there. He'd want to get a few more things, like a radio or television to keep up on the news, some extra supplies, and maybe a mattress for when he needed to recharge, but those things could wait. Right now he wanted to finish repairing his new cat and wiping her memory. After all, he didn't want to have to beat her over the head with another chair if she decided she didn't like being kidnapped.

"It'll just be the two of us here, you know," he mused, as though the cat could hear him. "No one else. But you know what they say about that, right? 'It takes two to tango.'" He was about to resume his work on the cat, but stopped again as what he'd said sparked an idea. "That's it, I'll call you Tango! What do you think about that, huh?" Pleased with the name he'd picked out, Protoman whistled a cheerful tune and went back to work.

-o-

  
_"This is Brie Ricotta, reporting to you live from the laboratory of the famous Dr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack. Here with me is Ian Cotswold, one of two witnesses to the shocking crime that has just been committed here. Mr. Cotswold, tell us what happened."_

_"It was Mega Man! He told us that Dr. Wily was going to break into the lab last night, but then he knocked out the chief and locked me in a closet. He's the one who stole Dr. Cossack's equipment!"_

_"Those are some pretty serious charges, Mr. Cotswold. Do you have any proof to back up these accusations?"_

_"You bet we do! We caught it all on the security cameras!"_

_"So, there you have it, folks. Mega Man, who we thought was our hero, is actually a criminal! His creator, Dr. Thomas Light, has not been available for comment, but one must wonder if a robot, even one such as Mega Man, can commit such crimes without any influence from its creator. Is there perhaps a darker, more sinister side to the man hailed as one of the most brilliant scientists of our time? We'll find out when he _and_ Mega Man are brought to court. This is Brie Ricotta, signing out."_

**-To be continued-**

  
Author Note: Yes, I am fully aware that Dr. Cossack did not make Tango in the games. However, it's also a known fact that the Mega Man cartoons don't always follow the game canon, and since Dr. Light made Beat - er, I mean 'Pippi' - in the cartoons, I figured I was justified in taking a little creative license with who made Tango. 

Hope you enjoyed the story!

Many thanks to Syvia and Atreyu for beta reading.


	2. Exception Error

Disclaimer: This story is based on the Mega Man cartoons, which belong to Capcom, ADV, and a bunch of people who are not me. Some liberties were taken with certain facts, but for the most part, I've tried to stay true to the canon.

This story is a sequel to "End Program," so if you have not already read that story, you might want to go do that before reading this one.

**Illegal Operation  
**

**Chapter Two: Exception Error**

"I didn't do it, Dr. Light. You have to believe me!" Mega Man searched his creator's face desperately for some sign that the aging scientist didn't believe the accusations that had been leveled against him. The two were standing in Dr. Light's lab in front of the computer currently showing the local news report. The theft from Dr. Cossack's laboratory and Mega Man's supposed involvement was, of course, the top story, and had been ever since this morning.

"I do, Mega, I do," Dr. Light said soothingly. He reached out and laid a hand on his son's armored shoulder. "I know full well that you could never do something like that - not unless it was a dire emergency - but unless we can come up with some sort of proof to say otherwise, the court will have no reason to take our word for it."

"Couldn't we just give them a copy of my memory logs?"

Dr. Light shook his head. "We can, but I'm afraid that won't be good enough. They can't be certain that neither you nor I will have tampered with those logs before turning them in. As for having someone present to act as a witness while I make a copy, again, there isn't anything to say that I haven't already altered your memory. After all, Mega," he said wryly, "I _am_ your creator, so my word is just as suspect. Whether or not you can remember your actions, I will still be held responsible for them, especially if they think I deliberately destroyed evidence of what you did."

"But I _didn't_ do it," the bewildered blue bomber repeated. "I wasn't anywhere _near _Dr. Cossack's lab yesterday. I was out investigating that report of a Wily bot at the old drill factory."

"Where you would have no witnesses, no one to provide you with an alibi." Dr. Light turned off the news and began pacing. "It all seems entirely too convenient to be a coincidence."

"I bet Dr. Wily has something to do with this," Mega Man said darkly. "It wouldn't be the first time he's had someone pretend to be me."

Dr. Light lifted an eyebrow at that. "That's a good point, Mega. In fact, you're not the only person he's tried to impersonate. However, I don't think we should try to rely on that as our sole defense. The prosecution will be quick to point out that Dr. Wily has never actually built a double of _you_. In the first case, he merely switched your circuits with Snakeman's, and in the second case, all he had to do was modify someone's dream so that one of his other robots appeared to be you."

"What we need to do," Roll announced, walking into the lab with a disk in her hand, "is figure out who that bot in the security tape _really_ is. The good news is that I managed to get a copy of the tape from Dr. Cossack. The bad news is that I looked through it once already and there aren't any obvious clues. I'm not giving up yet, though. In fact, I wanted to use your computer to play through it again, since it has the biggest screen in the house. It'll be easier to see all the details."

"Play it in slow motion," Dr. Light urged. "And pay close attention to any reflective surfaces. Sometimes they reveal things that people assumed would not be seen by the camera."

Roll nodded and gave her creator an optimistic smile. "Don't worry, Dr. Light, I will. I'll nail that Mega-fraud if it's the last thing I do!"

-o-

_"Do you, Mega Man, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"_

_"I do."_

_"Please be seated."_

_"Mega Man, you are accused of assaulting Lynn Bergher and Ian Cotswold and stealing equipment from the laboratory of Dr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack. How do you plead?"_

_"Not guilty."_

_"Mega Man, where were you on the evening of March 8?"_

_"I was at the Williams Drill Factory."_

_"And what were you doing there?"_

_"I'd gotten a report that one of Dr. Wily's robots had been spotted there, so I went to check it out."_

_"Did you discover anything?"_

_"No, sir. I'm not even certain it _was_ a Wily bot the caller saw. The description didn't match any of his robots who I've ever seen or heard of."_

_"Mega Man, was there anyone at this drill factory who could verify that you were there?"_

_"No, sir. The place has been abandoned for years."_

_"So let me get this straight. You received an anonymous phone call from someone who just _happened _to be hanging around an abandoned drill factory at just the right time to spot a robot who might or might not even belong to Dr. Wily. This oh so conveniently happened at the exact same time as the crime you are accused of committing. You have no witnesses and no proof beyond the memory files you submitted to the court. Am I right?"_

_"...yes, sir."_

_"No further questions."  
_

-o-

As much as Protoman kept from interacting with people, even _he_ heard about the trial of the century. How could he not, when it was plastered on every television, newspaper, and magazine, and nearly every conversation he overheard was about his brother? Protoman grinned. He never tired of hearing about how much hot water his little stunt had landed Mega Man in.

"Serves him right, huh, Tango?" he chortled, rubbing the green robo-cat's head affectionately. "That's what he gets for being such a gullible little goody goody."

Tango gave Protoman a look that could have meant any number of things, then slipped out from under the robot's red-gloved hand and jumped up on top of a crate. Without so much as a second glance at her companion, the green and white cat curled up and went to sleep. 'Recharging' probably would have been a more accurate term to describe the state of low energy consumption, where a robot's body consumed less energy than it produced, but in Protoman's mind that cat didn't recharge - she _slept_.

"Yeah, yeah," Protoman grumbled good-naturedly. "What do _you _care about my idiot brother?" Still, Tango was the only here that he could gloat to, and considering that it had been _his_ phone call that had gotten Mega Man out of the way, he figured he had plenty to gloat about. Of course, he'd only made the false report of a Robot Master sighting to eliminate any chance of his brother showing up during the robbery. He hadn't guessed that the city would make this big a deal over his impersonation of his brother, or that this would conveniently leave Mega Man without a legitimate alibi. Protoman grinned again._ It's his own fault for not taking anyone with him._

-o-

_"Dr. Light, to what extent do your robots have free will?"_

_"Are you asking about my commercial robots, or about Mega Man and his sister, Roll?"_

_"You mean to say that Mega Man does _not_ have the same restrictions as the average robot?"_

_"It would be ridiculous to do otherwise. Mega Man's flexibility, ingenuity, and self-determination are exactly what allow him to combat Dr. Wily so effectively."_

_"But you built and programmed Mega Man _before_ Dr. Wily surfaced as a threat."_

_"I also built both Mega Man and his sister before there were _any _regulations on how to program robots."_

_"So what you're saying is that because they were built before the laws existed, that means that the laws do not apply to them?"_

_"If you are suggesting that I should reprogram them-!"_

_"Why shouldn't you? When the laws for something as simple as a driver's license changes, everyone must follow the new laws. The same applies to regulations on our factories, our cars, on our very behavior in society."_

_"But it is _not_ that simple. Robots are very complex beings-"_

_"Robots aren't _people_, Dr. Light. They're only robots, and as robots, they need - no, they _must_ conform to the laws set in place to keep such machines under control. Unless you are trying to claim that you and your creations are exempt from the law?"_

_"Mega Man and Roll have never shown any signs that they needed to be reprogrammed. They followed the law well enough on their own without modifying their programming. There is a general rule in mechanics, sir, that if something is not broken, you don't fix it."_

_"And _that_ is exactly what went wrong. I believe it was Mega Man's out of date programming that allowed him to break the law in the first place. It also doesn't surprise me in the slightest that you would wish to believe in his innocence, because if he is indeed guilty, it means that _you_ failed to program him correctly. Isn't that right, Dr. Light?"  
_

-o-

"Hmm..." Dr. Wily stroked one of his mustaches thoughtfully as he read the newspaper that one of his Batontons had brought him. "So. Mega Man is on trial. Truly, the world is filled with imbeciles if they believe this rubbish! But... it _does_ present quite an opportunity." He cackled with glee and folded the newspaper up.

"With Mega Man out of the picture, we can do anything we want!" Cutman agreed excitedly.

"Let's rob a bank!" Gutsman suggested. "We can smash our way in!"

"Fools!" Dr. Wily roared. "That is not the kind of opportunity I was talking about! You are thinking - no! You are _not_ thinking! You do not have the _ability _to think! If we draw attention to ourselves now with petty crimes such as you suggest, the people will release Mega Man to fight us and he will redeem himself in their eyes. No, I mean to be rid of Mega Man once and for all. Cutman, go and get Bass. It is time to send him on his first mission."

-o-

_"Mega Man, this isn't the first time you've been held responsible for something that wasn't your fault, is it?"_

_"No, sir."_

_"Would you say that it's possible that someone made that phone call with the very intent to make sure you were not there during the robbery and would have no alibi?"_

_"Yes, sir, I think it's possible."_

_"Is there any way that someone could have created some way to impersonate you?"_

_"Dr. Wily's made robot clones of other people, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's done the same thing with me. It might have been someone else, but I doubt it."_

_"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I agree with the prosecution. There has been entirely too much coincidence in this case for it to _be _a coincidence. However, I disagree with the interpretation of the events. I propose that someone is trying to frame Mega Man."_

-o-

"Hey, Roll," Mega Man said, giving his sister a wan smile as he and Dr. Light sat down at the kitchen table. The court had adjourned for the day, allowing everyone to go home, eat, and get some sleep. Of course, being a robot, these things didn't really affect him, but he still felt drained. Probably a side effect of watching all his defenses get torn to pieces by some of the very people he'd been fighting to protect for years. "How's the search going?"

Roll shook her head sadly. "Not good, I'm afraid. Whoever this guy is, he's good. He looks exactly like you, Mega. He even _sounds_ like you, and that's supposed to be impossible!"

"Indeed," Dr. Light remarked. "You would have to have the blueprints of almost every piece of a robot's body to ensure a perfect match. Voices are controlled by the robot's programming, thus no robot's voice can be matched perfectly unless you copy everything from their processor to their memory chips. If even one chip differs slightly from the robot you're trying to copy, the voice will almost certainly be affected. To copy Mega Man's voice, considering that I used materials from many different companies, would be next to impossible."

"It's too bad the prosecution didn't miss that fact." Mega Man dropped his head into his hands and groaned. "That's one of their best pieces of evidence against me. I _know_ I've never said the words that were on the tape, so it couldn't be a recording, either."

"Don't worry, Mega. We'll figure something out." Roll leaned over and patted the blue bomber's shoulder, an impish grin flashing across her face. "What you need is a can of energy and a good polishing, to remind everyone that you're our knight in shining armor."

A grateful smile and a chuckle were Roll's reward. Mega Man nodded and stood up. "Thanks, sis." He meant the words for more than just the favor she'd offered. Roll never failed to cheer him up.

-o-

_"Of all the robots in existence, Protoman would be the easiest to blame for this crime. Because he and Mega Man were built from the same plans, they look a great deal alike in terms of basic body structure and capabilities. However, not even _he_ has the same voice pattern as Mega Man. Yes, Dr. Wily has copied the voices of humans before, but copying the voice of a human is a completely different matter from copying the voice of a robot. _Humans_ do not have voices that are controlled and regulated by machinery and computers. Their voices are constantly in flux, changing as their bodies grow older, influenced by the individual circumstances the human in question is speaking under, so any minute inconsistencies in the copy are almost impossible to spot when compared to the original._

_"Robots, on the other hand, have voices that never change outside of their original parameters. Robot voices cannot be copied perfectly without copying the robot perfectly, a concept that is patently absurd when we are talking about a robot as complex and old as Mega Man. Here we have a recording of a robot's voice that matches, _exactly_, the voice of the defendant. Can there be any dispute that it _was_ Mega Man who spoke these words?"_

-o-

Night time probably would have made it easier for Bass to approach Dr. Light's lab unnoticed. Unfortunately, it would have also made it much more difficult to break in, as people _expected_ crimes to be committed under the cover of darkness. Night time was when security was highest. That was why Bass had chosen to carry out his plans during the day, timing it for when Mega Man and Dr. Light would be busy with the trial and _not_ at home. With luck, Mega Man's sister and his dog would also go to the trial, but if they didn't, Bass would make do. His lip curled in a sneer. He had no fear of _them_.

Still, the actual trip from Skull Castle to Dr. Light's lab was easy enough. No one took any note of one more car on the streets, even one with windows tinted to hide the fact that the driver was wearing a rather unique helmet. Dr. Light lived on a large plot of land in the suburbs, so finding an out of the way parking place where none of the neighbors would see him get out of the car was a relatively simple matter. There was still some risk involved, but no one knew who the black and gold robot was or who he worked for. Anyone who noticed the wolf at his side would likely be too far away to realize that it was both purple and robotic. And if they did? So what? Robotic animals were not uncommon. Assuming things went according to plan, people would have no reason to remember either of them at all.

Now he and the wolf stood in front of the house, eyeing it critically for any obvious signs of weakness. From the information Dr. Wily had given him, there were sensors everywhere, many of which would be linked to non-lethal traps. A human wouldn't set them off, but he, a robot, would trigger all sorts of alarms with just one wrong step. The doors would be titanium reinforced and password protected. Windows, chimney, pipes, iris portals - all were well protected and had been ever since Dr. Wily had broken in that first time all those years ago. There had been one break-in since then, but Bass had strong suspicions that Dr. Light and Mega Man had _wanted_ Ice man to get in.

A devilish grin spread across Bass' face as he realized that one of the windows in the lab dome had been broken recently and was in the middle of being repaired. He hadn't expected to find such an easy entrance as this, but who was he to complain? As for the sensors...

"Treble," he whispered. "Fuse!"

-o-

_"Just because a thing has never been done before does not mean that it cannot be done at all. Despite the apparent evidence to the contrary, we cannot rule out the possibility that Mega Man has been framed. We all acknowledge the fact that it _is_ possible - unlikely, but possible - for a perfect copy of a robot to be made, one who would have the same voice pattern as the original. With people like Dr. Light and Dr. Wily accomplishing the seemingly impossible on a daily basis, how do we know that this is not exactly what has happened?"_

-o-

Protoman had to chuckle at the defense lawyer for that. Oh, the man had a point, but the idea of copying Mega Man _perfectly_ was ludicrous, especially since the supposed copy had broken the law, thus proving that his programming, at least, was not a perfect match. What no one seemed to consider was the fact that Mega Man's unchanging voice was exactly what had made it so easy for Protoman to mimic it. Of course, it helped that he and Mega Man had been made from the same plans, so his vocal programming and voice synthesizer were already a fair match for his brother's.

_No other robot in the world can do what I've done_, Protoman thought smugly as he turned away from the display TV and continued his shopping. Well, shoplifting would be a more accurate term, but the principle was still the same. He just didn't intend to pay for the products he was picking up. _No other robot can control their voice as well as I can. I may be the oldest robot alive, but I'm the best there is. Better than you, Mega Man. Better than you._

-o-

_"The world is full of 'mights' and 'what ifs.' If every trial took into account every possibility under the sun, no one would ever be convicted. I'm willing to bet that every criminal currently under arrest fervently wishes they could place all the blame conveniently on the shoulders of an evil twin who _might_ exist. The simple fact of the matter is that a perfect copy of a complex robot has never been made, no one has ever reproduced a complex robot's voice patterns, and the possibility of either of these happening is so remote that we may as well not consider them possible at all. If Mega Man was a human, the evidence we have is enough that he would already be convicted. It is only because he is a robot and because of his reputation that this trial has dragged on as long as it has."_

-o-

Nobody was home. That much was obvious as Bass flew into the lab, his purple wings just barely brushing the edges of the broken window. The house was too still, too quiet, for there to be anyone present but him. Roll was a robot who was not built to be inactive, and from what he had heard of Rush, 'quiet' did not seem to be part of the dog's programming. If either one were present, Bass would have heard something. The broad fins on his helmet weren't there for decoration, after all.

Still, he would be cautious. He landed as softly as he could, with only a faint thump as rubber soled titanium connected with tile. He paused. He listened. Nothing. _Good_, he thought with satisfaction. On any other day, he would have preferred to meet with some resistance, would have loved to blast something to pieces, but that wasn't the purpose of his mission today.

Not wanting to take any more chances than necessary, Bass opted to stay fused with Treble for the moment, even though it meant he had to sit at the computer awkwardly because of his wings. He trusted Treble, but the robotic wolf _was_ newly built. He might have undetected bugs, or he might simply display too much curiosity and poke his nose into the wrong place at the wrong time. Either would unnecessarily complicate things. Besides, staying fused would cut down on the amount of time it would take to get out of here.

_Now, let's see if your programming's as good as you say it is, doc._ The computer was password protected, of course, but that didn't keep Bass from slipping in a small silvery disk. Within moments, the computer's dark screen sprang to life as the program on the disk began its work. Windows popped up and disappeared in the blink of an eye, old files were overwritten or altered, and new files appeared where there had been none before. One of the first things to be edited was the video feed from the camera that was watching the interior of the lab right now. Bass relaxed a little after that. One less possible piece of evidence that someone had broken into this place.

Time passed slowly. The program had a lot of work to do, after all, not only altering the files that needed to be changed, but covering up its tracks, too. Everything it did left footprints that could be detected by an expert, and no matter what else Dr. Light might be, he _was_ an expert. It would be interesting to see if Dr. Wily's hacking skills were up to the challenge.

Bass watched and waited while the program ran, glancing at the door every once in a while to make sure it stayed closed. If he was caught now, he would have no choice but to kill whoever entered and hide their body somewhere where no one would ever find it. His eyebrow twitched at the thought of having to haul someone's useless carcass all the way back to Skull Castle. _Not_ something he wanted to deal with while trying to escape unseen.

A soft _ding_ from the computer interrupted his thoughts. The black and purple robot exhaled softly in relief as the disk was spit back out at him. It was done - and _without_ having to hide any bodies. He grabbed the disk and activated the jets in his wings, giving himself just enough of a boost to make it back through the window. As he glided through the air, a triumphant smirk spread across his face. He had done what only his predecessor, Protoman, had done. He had broken into the lab of Dr. Light when the old man had _not_ wanted uninvited guests. The only difference was that _he_ hadn't been caught. Now all he had to do was make one little phone call and his success would be complete.

"You're all obsolete," he said, laughing as he landed near his parked car. A flash of purple light enveloped him, and when it faded he was back in his normal gold trimmed black armor with Treble at his side. There was no sign that he had ever had purple wings. "I am the most advanced robot in existence, and I'll prove it if I have to scrap every one of you!"

-o-

_"...and in a startling turn of events, an anonymous tip led investigators to run a thorough search of Dr. Light's computer. Among the files that were turned up were some that apparently indicated that Mega Man's memory has been modified! Although there were no copies of the original memories, the time stamp on the modifications show that they were made shortly after the March 8th crime was committed. Prosecutors say this is just the evidence they need to prove that it _was_ Mega Man who broke into Dr. Cossack's laboratory. If convicted, Mega Man may face a complete wipe of his memory and personality programming. Because of Mega Man's past heroic activities, it seems unlikely that prosecutors will seek the ultimate penalty for a robot who has attacked humans..." _

-o-

"What?" Protoman stared at the newspaper in stark disbelief, then with growing rage. "Oh _hell_ no!" he snarled, crushing the newspaper with his hands. "_No_ one destroys Mega Man but _me!_" He tossed the newspaper to one side and stood up, eyes smoldering with determination. He had work to do.

-o-

_"Mega Man, you have been found guilty of all the charges brought against you."_

-o-

Roll felt numb, hearing neither the sentencing phase of the trial or Rush's pathetic whimpers. She had failed. The one time Mega Man had needed her most, she hadn't been able to find any evidence that would _prove_ that it hadn't been him. Now her brother was going to be killed. Even if the court only ordered a mind wipe, he wouldn't be _Mega_ anymore. He'd be a stranger wearing her brother's face. And Dr. Light...

Unwillingly, Roll's eyes traveled to where her father was sitting. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but she thought her father's hair had become much whiter in just the last few minutes. There was no doubt that he was in shock. His eyes glistened with unshed tears and his gaze was firmly fixed on the blue armored bot sitting still as a statue at the defense table. Roll was willing to bet there wasn't a thought in Dr. Light's head about his own fate. Nothing the court could do to him would be worse than taking his son away from him.

Mega Man, on the other hand, wasn't looking at anyone. His shoulders were slumped in resignation and defeat. After all these years of fighting Dr. Wily, it hadn't been one of Wily's creations who finally brought him down, but the very people he'd been trying to defend. The irony would kill him. Literally.

_Mega didn't do it._ The thought echoed in Roll's mind for what must have been the thousandth time that day. _And Dr. Light would never erase something from his mind! Not even something like _this_. There has to be a mistake. Someone's trying to frame them._ But whoever had hacked into Dr. Light's computer had done a good job of removing any evidence of tampering. The experts who had examined the data had declared that it was one hundred percent genuine. Roll had tried to point out that someone could have come in through the broken window, but a forensics team hadn't been able to find so much as a footprint on Dr. Light's property, let alone fingerprints or any other mark on the new metal framing that had just been installed. Her protest that maybe they flew in had sounded feeble even to her, especially when coupled with the lab's video surveillance that showed no one entering or leaving the lab in the past two weeks who shouldn't have.

What the tapes _had_ shown was Mega Man lying on Dr. Light's lab table with wires connecting him to the computer. Roll would dearly love to know how the intruder had managed _that_. Her first thought had be that it was recycled footage from one of the times Dr. Light had had to repair something particularly sensitive, but no one could find any evidence of repetition when compared to any of the earlier videos. That had been the end of the story.

"Oh Mega," she whispered as the court broke into recess. "I'm sorry."

-o-

_"The news of Mega Man's guilt has stunned the world. The fact that a hero such as the famous blue bomber could also be a criminal has rocked the very foundations of our faith. If we cannot even trust our heroes, who _can_ we trust?"_

-o-

"Letter for you, miss."

Roll blinked in surprise at the teenage boy who was holding out an envelope to her. She was certain she'd never seen him before, but something about him struck her as... familiar. Maybe she could pin down who he reminded her of if he took off his sunglasses and that ball cap so she could get a good look at him. She wouldn't ask him to do that, though. That would be rude. Instead, she asked, "Do I know you?"

"Nope." Now he looked like he was trying not to smile. "I'm just a delivery boy. You gonna take the letter or not?"

She took the letter. "Thanks."

"Just doing my job," the boy replied. He turned around and walked away before Roll could ask him anything else.

Puzzled - who would be sending _her _a letter? - the blond robot opened the envelope. There was no letter. Just a picture. It was a still shot from the video surveillance of Dr. Cossack's lab when 'Mega Man' had encountered the robotic cat that had belonged to Dr. Cossack's daughter. Someone had used a bright red marker to draw a circle around the intruder's forearm and there was caption at the bottom, written in unfamiliar handwriting. _Missed a spot_, it said. Roll frowned and looked at the circled area more closely - and nearly dropped the picture in shock.

There was a scratch on the armor. A small _red_ scratch. The cat's spikes must have scratched off-

"A layer of paint!" Roll gasped. Then she broke into a run. There was still hope!

-o-

_"It is the decision of this court that Mega Man be confiscated and reprogrammed by government experts-"_

_"Wait! I can prove that Mega Man's innocent!"  
_

-o-

The photo turned out to be genuine, rather than a doctored image. Every copy of the original video showed the same thing. Whoever the intruder had been, he was most certainly _not_ Mega Man. Not only were there no scratches on his armor anywhere, but even if he _had_ been scratched, the scratch would have appeared either blue or gray, depending on how deep it cut. There was no red on him anywhere except his helmet.

In light of this evidence, a harder look was taken at the data pulled from Dr. Light's computer. Again, nothing could be found to indicate that the incriminating files had been faked, but there _was_ a missing segment of video from an earlier date. Other files that corresponded with the missing segment showed that Mega Man had indeed undergone repairs at that time. Investigators concluded that the scene had been removed from the earlier video and spliced into the more recent records to 'prove' that Dr. Light had altered Mega Man's memories.

Of course, this didn't solve the question of who the real criminal was, but that hardly mattered at this point. Mega Man was free to go. In the mean time, people were cautioned to be on the lookout for an illegal copy of the hero who might try to commit more crimes in his name. If anyone spotted 'Mega Man' doing anything questionable, they were to report it to the police immediately. Police and government officials worked out a way for Mega Man to identify himself to them, should they ever doubt that he was the real Mega Man, and everyone was happy - unless you counted Dr. Wily and Bass.

As Dr. Wily ranted and railed about how Mega Man had foiled his plans yet again, Bass watched the news report with narrowed eyed. It didn't matter much to him that his creator's plans had failed. It just meant that he would likely end up meeting his enemy on the field of battle, which was a _good_ thing as far as Bass was concerned. His lips curled into a feral grin at the thought of crushing Mega Man with his bare hands. _You won't escape so easily when I have my hands around your neck._

As for Protoman...

The _real_ culprit of the Dr. Cossack break-in smirked in satisfaction as he put the newspaper down. "Mega Man is _mine_," he declared, although no one was there to hear him but the cat. He didn't know who had hacked into Dr. Light's computer and planted the false evidence, but he had a pretty good idea. "Not yours, doc. _Mine_."

**-The End-**

Author Note: Once again, thanks to Syvia and Atreyu for beta reading this story.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
